Woe To You, by Michael Davis – Straight No Chaser #344:1 | @MDWorld

March 28, 2014 Michael Davis 11 Comments

I’ve just been uninvited to speak at a university because they heard I use profanity.

They didn’t call and ask me not to use profanity. They didn’t write and ask if could I tone it down.

They didn’t ask the guy who’s got a K-6 school auditorium named after him just to be conscious of the audience, like Comic-Con & HUNDREDS of elementary, junior high, high school, and REAL universities have done for years.

They couldn’t have a conversation with me.

They couldn’t make a call, they couldn’t express concern, they couldn’t do any of that.

No. They had to send a valued friend to do their dirty work.

They are a religious university — I get that.

But part of being a Christian, is the ability to communicate with and to people who aren’t necessarily cut from the same cloth. In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus makes a point to speak as equals with a Samaritan, a people group that his particular clique had a centuries-old feud with (of the phrase “Good Samaritan” fame).

What I notice Jesus didn’t do is cut off the Samaritan woman before she could speak, in the off chance that she put things in a way that his sensitive ears would find offensive.

It’s also worth mentioning that the only people Jesus publicly criticized, the only group who earned his ire, was the religious, educational establishment. There’s a whole chapter in Matthew devoted to the several things Jesus found wrong with religious leaders. If sound equipment existed in 30ish AD Palestine, then the end of Matthew 23 would have included the verse:

“And then the Lord dropped the mic.”

Apparently, this particular religious university believes in all of Jesus’ qualities except the one where he, y’know, had dialogues with actual human beings with actual human flaws.

Perhaps they are unaware that I created a comic book universe for one of — if not the biggest — Black Christian Media companies in the world specifically for the church audience. And yes, they knew I used profanity, but somehow when I spoke in front of that organization, I managed to speak in a way that was conducive to their brand as a Christian company. See the video below, which by the way, is one of the few comic book commercials ever done for national TV. Guess who did that? And look, not a single bad word in the entire video. Pay close attention to the name of the company at the end of the video:

Some of the biggest names working in comics were young people I mentored in my self-funded program. I never took a dime. I opened up my home, my studio, my contacts. MY LIFE. And yes, my language included profanity.

Oh look. Is that me? With superstar artist Steven Harris? What’s that? My “Mentor of the Year” cover? Where I insisted I be photographed with one of my students? That’s pretty Christian, eh?

When I was the keynote speaker in front of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I used a few blue words.  I was practically the only black guy in the room full of white guys with guns. I made fun of J. Edgar Hoover, and guess what?

I wasn’t shot.  But yesterday I was.

Shot by people who don’t know me. This is not about hearing profanity; this is about someone sitting in a room full of people and talking about Michael Davis in a way that made these people scared of what I do and how I present myself.

This is about character assassination.

This wasn’t about somebody using blue words; how could it be, when I’m asked to speak for and to kids all the time? Do I get the benefit of the doubt? Do I get so much as a conversation?

No.

I get shot down.

Shot down like a dog in the street.

Why?

Because someone said that dog may bite someone because he’s bitten someone before. They failed to consider that dog saved hundreds of “Timmy’s” from the well, and the person bitten was Michael Vick.

This supposed ‘great place of learning’ gave me no respect for the work I’ve done all my life as a Christian (surprise!!!).  I don’t do my work the way certain Christians do, but then again, certain Christians within the Christian power structure molest children.

I’m feeling kind, so I’ll just leave that where it is. Now.

No call.

No email.

Never spoke to me.

If asked not to curse, I wouldn’t have.

When I was fortunate enough to have lunch with Bishop Tutu, when I was blessed to have dinner with Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela, when I was asked to speak at a child’s funeral, I managed not to say anything offensive.

When they named the auditorium at the Gordon Parks Academy “The Michael Davis Auditorium,” and I spoke to the student body of that K-6 exceptional magnet school, I somehow managed not to use any words which would require the kids to wear earmuffs. No parent walked out angrily holding their kid’s hands while telling that child, “Never be like Michael Davis, Ph.D, co-founder of the most successful African-American comic book company in the universe, philanthropist, mentor, teacher, and really really really wrong guy to piss off!”

Now they have a problem.

Me.

Me and my righteous anger.

In telling people that I am not to speak in front of an institution, they are messing with my brand.  If one person tells another person that I can’t be trusted to speak in front of an organization, if left to stand, that may very well become untenable for me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no one, I repeat, no one, gets to define MY brand.

No one gets to tell someone else something that negatively affects my ability to do what I do and expect me to just sit on my ass.

So they better recognize.

They better apologize.

Or I’m about to vocalize.

Loudly.

“For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”

Jeremiah 4:22

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

Michael Davis 344:1